Who I am
by kou-tora
Summary: NEW CHAPTER! FINALLY!-- Naruto is kidnapped on his birthday by a mysterious group who knows of his every weakness, including Kyuubi's! SasuNaru full summary inside
1. Author's introduction

Greetings! My name's Kou-Tora (meaning Phoenix-Tiger…I believe). I hereby present to you my very first fan fiction! So please be nice to me. I've had this story swirling around in my head for a very long time, and I just need to get it out in words . I have quite a bit of the first part of the story outlined, but I left some open spaces in the plot for any changes I feel are needed, or any suggestions you (the readers/reviewers) may have. The ending is still a little fuzzy, but once I get most of the first part all written out, a good ending should come.

So what's in this story? Well for one thing it has a plot! (gasp!). It has action, suspense, drama, angst, demons, villains, and of course romance! A little bit of everything for everyone -

So far, the only true solid pairing I have planned is Sasuke X Naruto, and on a shounen-ai level. I may have their relationship go deeper if I can fit it in, without it becoming a PWP, and if I can build enough courage to write it (never written yaoi or lemons before ;; )

Ok, first off I want to give a quick explanation of the time-line here. There is a large gap in time and events in my story, so here's a quick summary.

After Naruto and Sasuke's fight in the Valley of the End, Sasuke obviously went to Orochimaru and Naruto went training with Jiraiya. Sakura also trained with Tsunade to become a med-nin.  
After 2 years, Naruto completed his training, and went after Sasuke with Sakura, Lee, Neji, Kiba and Jiraiya. In a rather grand and glorious battle (ok…no so grand, but still big), The Konoha team infiltrated the Sound Village. Naruto had another show-down with Sasuke, while Jiraiya fought with Orochimaru. The others were fighting off Sound ninjas. In the end, Naruto somehow managed to beat Sasuke (with a little help from the Kyuubi - ). Sasuke accepted defeat, and agreed to return to the village. (I know it sounds OOC for Sasuke, but I plan to explain what exactly happened during their fight later on in the story). Seeing Sasuke abandon him, Orochimaru fled. Another 2 years went by. Naruto is 17(I think my math is right…) and everyone else is their respected age. Life in Konoha returned mostly to normal. Sasuke, Neji, Shino and Kiba are all Anbu. Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru, Hinata, and TenTen are all Jounin. Naruto is planning on taking the next Anbu exams. Sakura, Ino, and Chouji are all Chuunin. And here is where our story takes place . (quick note #1, the events concerning Gaara with the Akatsuki in chapters 248, never happened. So Gaara is still KazeKage with Shukaku still sealed within him.) (quick note #2 none of the Naruto's peers knows that Naruto has the Kyuubi sealed within him. Not even Sakura or Sasuke. So only the older generation, know of the Kyuubi.)

With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy reading my very first fanfiction! Please review me kindly, though I do appreciate helpful critiques. And so, I give you "Who I am"

-Kou-Tora 


	2. The White Building

Title: Who I Am

Summary: Naruto is 17 and life in Konoha is peaceful. As a Jounin, Naruto aims to become Anbu, to further prove himself to the village. But on the night of his birthday, a mysterious group comes and kidnaps him! Sasuke struggles to find Naruto, while Naruto must survive the hardships of being imprisoned by a clan of ninjas that seem to know his every weakness, including the Kyuubi's.

Rating: Probably is about PG at the moment, though may be brought up to PG-13 or even R in future chapters.

Pairings: Sasuke x Naruto, Shounen-ai maybe yaoi in the future.

Disclaimer: Naruto and characters are not owned by me. They are © to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter One - The White Building

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A hospital was a ninja's worse nightmare. Though its main purpose is heal the wounded, the bleach white walls and constant stench of cleaning chemicals, occasionally mixed with the smell of blood or death, is enough to ward off the most seasoned of ninja.

However, the hospital just happened to be the destination of one Uchiha Sasuke. During a mission, he had failed to spot the blade hidden inside the glove of his target. With surprising speed, the target had managed to embed the blade into Sasuke's left upper arm. Though it was not life threatening, Sasuke's squad captain ordered him to go to the hospital to get it checked out. It wouldn't be good if the blade was poisoned or if the wound became infected.

Sasuke cursed himself again and again for the stupid slip-up. An Anbu shouldn't make mistakes like that. Especially THE Uchiha Sasuke. Uchihas do no make mistakes.

Walking casually into the Konoha Hospital, Sasuke approached the front desk and calmly requested Haruno Sakura, who he knew was currently working right now. Sasuke didn't fail to spot the fan-girlish smile the young girl at the desk gave him, and calmly gave Sasuke Sakura's location. Sasuke didn't linger any longer then that. He hated that fan-girl smile. It seemed now, at the age of 18, Sasuke's fan club only grew in size, and became much more irritating. Sasuke had to change the phone number to his house 3 times, because the stupid girls (and occasional guys) mange to somehow keep finding it, and calling him at some ungodly hour in the morning.

Deciding to take the stairs, (it wouldn't be good to be caught in an elevator with a fan-girl nurse) Sasuke walked upwards to the 3rd floor, where the lady at the desk mentioned Sakura currently was. Now if this had been 4 years ago, Sasuke would've avoided Sakura like the plague, and certainly wouldn't seek her out. But their relationship had changed over the years, and more for the better. Sakura finally let go of her obsession for Sasuke, which Sasuke was grateful for, and moved on. She was now currently dating Lee, if Sasuke remembered correctly. Now Sakura saw her old teammates more as brothers. They were her family. Sasuke wasn't sure how to place Sakura. She was definitely a friend. Almost sister-like, if Sasuke knew what it was like to have a sister. Sakura was probably the only female that Sasuke dared to share his feelings and thoughts with. Sakura was usually more than happy to listen, and often helped Sasuke through any problems he faced. She was also the only medical ninja that Sasuke would tolerate, with the exception of the Hokage. The other nurses use to fight over who would get to treat the "god-like" Uchiha.

Coming up to the third floor, Sasuke wandered the halls slowly, quietly searching for Sakura, and avoiding any nurse that he managed to spot. Rounding a corner, Sasuke managed to catch a familiar voice.

"Now please try to get some sleep, Ukina-san. You need to rest if you want that leg to heal faster." A young women stepped out of a patient's room and quietly closed the door.

Now as a young woman, Sakura had certainly grown up quickly in the past few years. Having let her deep strawberry pink hair grow out long again, she now braided it in the back, with a few strands of hair hanging in the front, framing her rounded face. The past years had deepened her eyes, causing them to now shine a darker emerald green. Standing now at 5'7", with slim shoulders and long legs, Sakura turned into an idol among many guys in the village. If it had not been for the over-protective Lee, Sakura would probably have a fan club much like Sasuke's. Even though Sakura was now only a chuunin, she was one of the top medical ninjas in Konoha. Rarely doing missions, Sakura spends most of her days working either at the Konoha Hospital, or working with Tsunade at the Hokage Tower as an assistant.

Noticing Sasuke approaching, Sakura waved cheerfully . "Hello Sasuke! It's been a while!" Jogging up to Sasuke, she greeting him with a friendly hug, knowing full well that Sasuke hated them. Sasuke winced slightly as Sakura squeezed his injured arm, the bandages hidden under a long-sleeved shirt.

"Hello Sakura. I…uh…" Sasuke hesitated for a moment. Stepping out of Sakura's hug, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing his heavily bandaged arm.

"What did you do this time!?" She scowled at him, Sakura quickly grabbed Sasuke's bad arm by the elbow, holding it while she studied the bandage. Letting out a heavy sigh, she dragged Sasuke by the elbow into an empty room.

"Sit" She ordered as she went to a cabinet, pulling out various bottles and tools. Sasuke did as he was told, and gently sat on the bed.

"How did it happen? And when?" Sakura asked as she set the items in her hand on a nearby table. Pulling up a chair next to Sasuke, she began to unwrap his arm cautiously.

"Yesterday, around mid-morning. Our target had a hidden knife in his glove." Sasuke simply stated. He wouldn't openly admit his weaknesses if possible.

After a few quiet minutes, Sakura finished cleaning up the wound. "It's going to need a few stitches, so hold still. You were lucky. There is no traces of poison, and the wound has yet to become infected."

"Hn" was Sasuke's only reply. He winced slightly as Sakura began to stitch up the opening.

"Naruto was in here just the other day. The baka had split his forehead and took a kunai in his leg." Sakura began, seeing now as a good time for idle chat.

Sasuke just snorted inwardly. "Is he still here?" Sasuke already knew the answer to that question though, as Naruto was notorious for never staying in the hospital longer than a night, no matter the extent of his injury.

"Surprisingly, he left that afternoon. By the time I checked up on him, his forehead was already completely healed and his leg wound was nothing but a small scratch. I wish I knew what he took for vitamins, because I've never seen a healing rate as fast as his." Sakura mused.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. That was another thing Naruto was notorious for, having the fastest healing rate anyone has ever seen. Now that Sasuke thought about it, he's surprised no one else seemed to notice, or acknowledge. The doctors, Kakashi, even Tsunade seemed to just accept it, and not even questioning it. Sasuke thought back at a mission he and Naruto had when they were both chuunin. During an enemy attack, Naruto was hit by a strong lightning jutsu on his back. The lightning had caused severe burns and large gashes all throughout his back. Sasuke was positive Naruto would have permanent scarring and may even need surgery. But by the time the two had returned to the village, a half a day later, Naruto's wounds were nearly completely gone. The burns had all healed, and only a few scratches, no bigger then if they were caused by a cat, were left. It happened every time too. Whenever Naruto was injured, it wouldn't be no more than a day before the wounds would be completely gone. Sasuke remembered asking Naruto once how he healed so fast. Naruto just gave one of his infamous grins, and simply said that it was natural. Sasuke didn't believe it. Whenever Naruto would wear one of those grins, Sasuke could tell Naruto was hiding something.

Sasuke was brought out of his inner-thoughts as Sakura finished the stitching, and wrapped the arm up again with fresh bandages. She handed Sasuke a small vial filled with about two dozen small white pills.

"Here, take these. They'll help prevent any further infections from developing. Take one every 12 hours. And I will check to see if you take them, so don't just throw them in the trash!" Sakura gave Sasuke a stern look before getting up.

"Hn" Sasuke replied standing as well. He rolled his shoulder slowly, his arm feeling sore. "Ah, thanks." He quietly added.

Sakura smiled sweetly and nodded. "No problem. It's good to see you again, though not under these circumstances. Oh! By the way, your free tomorrow right? Everyone's getting together at my apartment for dinner. We're all going to the festival together also. I would be great if you came. We hardly see you because of all your missions."

"Tomorrow…wait…tomorrow is…! Shit! I forgot it's….!" Sasuke stopped in mid-sentence, as if a sudden realization hit him.

"The festival celebrating the defeat of the demon Kyuubi. Don't tell me you forgot. You really need a calendar Sasuke." Sakura looked at him quizzically.

"No, not that. Tomorrow is Naruto's birthday." Sasuke sighed, rubbing his head in frustration.

"What!? Tomorrow!? He never told me! He gets me a present every year, yet he would never tell me when his was."

"I had to beat it out of him to tell me. Shoot! With all my missions I totally forgot. I haven't bought him anything yet either. " Sasuke inwardly cursed. How could he forget?

"Oh! I know what we can do! We can change the dinner I have planned for tomorrow night to a surprise party for Naruto! I haven't told him about the dinner yet. Ooooh! I've got to go call Ino and Lee, and start making preparations! Sasuke, can you make sure to get Naruto to my house by 6pm tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll just make some stupid excuse like you need helping cooking ramen or something." Sasuke smirked, and waved goodbye. "Thanks again, Sakura" he said and quickly departed from the room.

Sakura waved goodbye, and quickly moved to leave the room to call Lee, when she noticed that Sasuke had subtly left his medication on the table. Cursing silently at Sasuke, Sakura left to call Lee.

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Chapter one - End!

First chapter's a wrap! I know it's a bit slow, but I felt this was a good place to stop. Lots of stuff's going to happen in the next chapter though! We'll finally see Naruto, as well as a few other familiar faces, and some shadowy characters come to town. The suspense!!

Thanks for reading heart

-Kou-Tora


	3. The Twin Dragons

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Chapter Two - The Twin Dragons

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Uzumaki Naruto, jounin of the Village Hidden in the Leafs, was bored. No, being simply labeled as bored was an understatement. He was in such a state of boredom, that at that very moment, he was sitting on his couch in his 1 bedroom apartment, counting the cracks in his ceiling. He'd get up to around 50 before he either lost count, or couldn't remember if he had counted that same crack once before. Signing, Naruto sat up and began to pace around in his living room, another activity he'd been doing for most of the day. After pacing for several more moments, he flopped back down onto his couch, his legs dangling over the armrest.

"This sucks! I've got nothing to do! Stupid baa-chan not giving me a mission. And tomorrow is the festival. Ugh! I hate my birthday! I can't do fucking anything!" Naruto complained loudly, taking out a kunai from his holster and tossing it onto the ceiling, imbedding it there, next to a few other kunais.

It wasn't specifically his birthday that Naruto hated, more like the other event that just so happened to take place on the very same day. The celebration of the defeat of the nine-tailed fox demon, Kyuubi. As being the container of the fox spirit, Naruto was often labeled as being the demon himself. Through his whole life, he's been shunned and outcast by the villagers who knew of his identity. Just by simply walking down the street, he'd receive glares, and words such as "monster child", "demon", and "murderer" were whispered just low enough for him alone to hear. It was especially worse on his birthday. The villagers would taunt him and some would even try to attack him when none of his friends were around. So Naruto avoided going outside whenever it was close to his birthday.

A knock on the door caught Naruto's attention. He sat up, but hesitated, hoping it wasn't a drunken villager, wanting to pick a fight with him.

"Oi, Naruto! You home?" A voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled gleefully as he ran to open his door.

"Ah, good your home. I wanted to give you this." Iruka smiled as Naruto opened the door. He quickly handed Naruto a box wrapped in gold paper. "I figured I'd give this to you now, since I probably won't find you tomorrow."

"Thanks Iruka-sensei! Want some tea?" Naruto took the package and stepped aside, allowing Iruka to enter.

"I'd love some. I just got back from the Academy. Seems my whole class is made up of miniature versions of yourself." Iruka signed and sat down at the table in the kitchen.

"Haha, any of them pull a sexy no jutsu on you?" Naruto laughed as he set the tea kettle on his stove, turning it on.

"Fortunately, no. Seems that particular technique stayed between you and Konohamaru. Though this one child created a rather effective stink bomb for Ebisu's office." Chuckled Iruka, remembering the look of disgust Ebisu got when he opened the door to his office. He had to relocate his office to another room for weeks, because they couldn't get the vile stench to go away.

While waiting for the water to boil, Naruto grabbed a chair and swung himself into it, sitting at the table with Iruka.

"Can I open this now?" Naruto asked pleadingly, pointing to the package that sat in the middle of the table.

"Hai, hai. I hope you like it. Your pretty hard to shop for, you know." Iruka joked, pushing to package towards his favorite student.

A child-like smile lit up on Naruto's face, as he quickly snatched the package. Removing the wrapping rather delicately, Naruto opened the lid of the brown cardboard box that was underneath it.

"Oh, Yes! This is perfect Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled in delight as he removed 3 scrolls that were inside the box. Each was labeled with the name of a specific jutsu technique. After Naruto became a chuunin, he dedicated most of his time in building up his jutsu arsenal. With his virtually unlimited chakra supply, and endless stamina, Naruto could master any technique that he set his eyes on. Also under Tsunade's supervision, Naruto was allowed to start studying some forbidden techniques. Even though most didn't agree, Tsunade did have high hopes that Naruto would become her successor, and thus become the Rokudaime.

"Happy 18th Birthday Naruto." Iruka beamed at the fox-boy ninja, who was now so engrossed in reading the new scrolls, that he didn't hear the whistling coming from his teapot. Standing up, Iruka made his way into the kitchen and poured them each a cup of tea. Sitting himself back down at the table and placing Naruto's cup in front of the blonde. Iruka couldn't help but chuckle. Once Naruto started learning something, he would just tune out the rest of the world, oblivious to it all.

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On the other side of town, Sasuke wandered through the crowded streets of the Konoha marketplace. The roadways were filled with people preparing for the upcoming festival. Now why would Uchiha Sasuke, known for his hate of crowds, be in the busiest areas in Konoha? One reason - birthday shopping for one blonde dobe of a ninja. Shopping for gifts for other people was not Sasuke's strongpoint. He struggled with the task every year, and this year was no exception.

'Shit shit shit shit shit! I have no bloody idea what to get him! And I can't not get him anything.' Sasuke mentally cursed himself yet again, for the second slip-up of the day.

While aimlessly wandering, Sasuke happened to come across one of his favorite shops, a weapon craftsmen shop. The old man and his son who ran the shop, were widely known for their beautifully crafted weapons of all varieties, as well as the weapons being nearly indestructible. Sasuke shopped there often, and was well acquainted with the old man, named Hogoran. The son, Taiko, Sasuke didn't particularly care for. He was the same age as Sasuke, but the two never got along well.

Deciding to stop in, Sasuke entered the shop quietly. Despite it being very busy in the streets, the shop was actually empty of any customers. A simple bell on the door chimed, announcing Sasuke's entry.

"Greetings! Welcome to….ah! Sasuke! Welcome! Welcome! What can I do for you, my friend?" An old man emerged from the back room. He was short with wide sturdy shoulders. A pair of small circular glasses were perched at the end of his nose. A wide smile that could rival Naruto's was framed on his rounded face. He walked up to Sasuke and shook his hand vigorously. "Come, let us talk in the backroom. Taiko! Taiko! Where is that stupid boy, Taiko!" Hogoran hollered.

A young man, the same age as Sasuke, soon entered from the backroom. Short, messy brown hair toped his head. Though being slightly taller than Sasuke, Taiko was much more slim and almost looked stretched. His legs and arms were very thin, but not unhealthy looking. At first glance, one wouldn't think that he was craftsmen.

"You bellowed?" He sarcastically said as he entered the room. Upon seeing Sasuke, Taiko frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "What are _you_ doing here?" He snarled at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't bother to respond. He wasn't in the mood to start another insult fight with Taiko. Instead, Hogoran decided to stop it there and now.

"Taiko! How many times have I told you to be nice to Sasuke! Watch the shop, boy. I'll be in the backroom." Hogoran snapped at Taiko, and ushered Sasuke into the backroom.

The backroom was a single large room, divided into sections by several screens and short movable wooden walls. In the center was a large floor table with cousins to relax on.

"Tea?" Hogoran asked as the two sat around the table.

"Ah, no thanks. Not today." Sasuke politely refused.

"So, tell me. What can I do for you?"

"Well, you see. I'm sort of a predicament. I forgot my friend's birthday is tomorrow, and I can't seem to find anything to get him." Sasuke replied, his chin resting on his fist.

"Hmmm, I see. Well who is this friend? Maybe if you tell me more about them, I'll be able to recommend something that suites them." Hogoran offered.

"Well, he's my age, or going to be. He appears to be stupid and a klutz, but is actually a very skilled shinobi. So skilled, I consider him a rival. He's very dedicated to his skills and training, and his dream is to become the Hokage. He's already a jounin, and he says that he's going to apply for the Anbu exams next time around." Sasuke began, describing Naruto the best way he could.

It was sort of difficult, because in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto had many different sides. Around friends, he would be loud and hyper-active. During battle, he was actually very focused, and thought out plans thoroughly; unlike his younger self who was just trying to show-off. Whenever Sasuke was alone with Naruto, he seemed to be calmer, and a little more open. Though Sasuke could tell that Naruto was carefully guarding himself, as if he was struggling to hold up a mask that hide his true self. Sasuke especially saw this mask whenever they would take a walk through the crowded part of the village. Naruto would suddenly become very quiet, and would try his hardest not to bump into anyone, or attract attention. Sasuke always noticed how the villagers would glare, or completely ignore the blonde. Every one of them would give the blonde a cold shoulder. And through it all, Naruto would wear that mask of his, the one with his infamous wide fox-grin. Sasuke tried once to get Naruto to open up about it, but Naruto hide his emotions regarding it too well. He simply shoved it aside, saying he didn't care.

"Ah, sounds like he's a worthy shinobi. What is his name? I don't think you mentioned it." Hogoran brought Sasuke out of his inner-thoughts.

"Oh, his name is Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke replied.

Suddenly, Hogoran became quiet. His expression turned slightly dark, and his smile faded.

"Uzumaki….Naruto, you say? Yes, I've heard of the boy. I know who you're talking about now." Hogoran quietly replied, his voice trailing off.

"Really? That's good. Maybe you can help me in finding something for him." Sasuke spoke up, hopeful.

"Tell me…Sasuke. What is that boy to you?" Hogoran asked, his expression turning dead serious.

"What…is he to me?" Sasuke was surprised by the strange question. He interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, with his head raised by his elbows on the table. Closing his eyes, Sasuke contemplated the question.

What was Naruto to Sasuke? Naruto was certainly a major part of his life. More than just a friend, more than just a team-mate, and more than just a rival. Their relationship had dramatically changed over the years. After the "Orochimaru incident" as Sasuke dubbed it, when Sasuke returned to the village after spending 2 years with the snake-freak, Sasuke and Naruto's friendship had been stretched dramatically. Sasuke had spent two years in what seemed like hell, and coming back to Konoha, was almost like culture-shock to him. Even though he had betrayed the village, most of the villagers welcomed him back with open arms. He was the last Uchiha after all.

His fellow peers on the other hand, had mixed emotions. Some, such as Ino, Sakura, and Lee, welcomed him back positively, and tried to make him feel at home as much as normal. Though, apparently those 2 years had done some damage, because they did give him plenty of space, even Sakura. The others, such as Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, and a few others, didn't know really what to say or do. They just let him be, and acted as if nothing ever happened. Then there was Hyuuga Neji. Hyuugas and Uchihas never got along, ever. Neji had always hated Sasuke, and when he came back, Neji made sure to remind Sasuke of his sins and crimes every chance he got.

Then there was Naruto. At first, Naruto was beyond obnoxious. At least ten times a day he would come to check up on Sasuke, who for a while was under house arrest. Naruto would always come waltzing up the front door, and repeatedly knock until Sasuke opened the door. Naruto would then just slime and say that he was checking to make sure Sasuke didn't skip town, and then Naruto would leave. This lasted for about a week, until Naruto was satisfied that Sasuke wasn't going anywhere. Then, Sasuke hardly ever saw Naruto. He was told the Naruto took on a lot of missions. After finally gaining the Hokage's trust again, Sasuke dedicated all of his time training, trying to rebuild the skills he had lost during his time with Orochimaru. However, whenever Sasuke was on the verge of mentally breaking down, Naruto would always mysteriously show up, and drag Sasuke out of his depression, usually by sparring with him. From there, Sasuke and Naruto begun to re-forge their lost friendship.

Coming to a conclusion, Sasuke opened his eyes and locked his eyes with Hogoran's. His tone serious and without doubt, Sasuke answered.

"Naruto is…my best friend, and my savior. I can trust my life with him, as he can with me."

Hogoran looked almost surprised by Sasuke's answer. Hogoran knew, that Sasuke was indeed as serious as he sounded. He could tell by the look in Sasuke's eyes. Letting out a heavy sigh, Hogoran stood up.

"I can see that you are indeed serious. I have no right to judge your friendship." Hogoran walked over to a section of the room that was filled with many large crates and boxes. Sasuke watched him, confused at what he meant by 'judging our friendship', and why suddenly Hogoran had become very serious around the topic of Naruto.

After shuffling through a few crates, Hogoran returned to where Sasuke was sitting, only now he was carrying an object wrapped in cloth.

"This, is the only thing that I can think of that is worthy enough for you to give your friend that you value so much. I present to you, Kouryou." Hogoran handed over the clothed object to Sasuke.

Sasuke, taking the object, slowly untied the strings that tied the cloth to it. Sasuke could help but gasp as the cloth fell. In his hands, he held one of the most beautifully made short bladed katana he had ever seen. The hilt was pure white, and as smooth as silk, yet it seemed to perfectly fit to one's hand, creating a comfortable grip. Sasuke unsheathed it, revealing a perfectly sharpened blade. Near the base, where the hilt was, Sasuke noticed that intricate carvings were made in the metal. Long elegant dragons wove themselves around the blade, and by shifting the blade in the right light, the dragons appeared to be dancing. On the sheath, was the same material as the hilt, along with more dragon carvings that perfectly blended.

"Kouryuu, or the Rain Dragon. That blade there, is the brother of your own blade, Hiryuu, the Flying Dragon. They were made to fight together in battle. I gave you Hiryuu last year, because you were the only person I have seen that could bring out it's full potential, it's immense speed, thus make it fly. Your friend, as you've described him, sounds like he is the perfect owner of Kouryuu. Do you know what Kouryuu also means? Hidden genius. That fit's the description of your friend, does it not? When Kouryuu is unleashed, its claws can even slice open the sky, thus making it rain. Go, and give it to him, no charge." Hogoran explained.

Hidden genius. Yes, that did fit Naruto perfectly. Sasuke couldn't believe that the old man was actually going to it to him, for free! Though, Sasuke did go through something similar to this a year ago, when the old man had given him Hiryuu, his own katana. Sasuke now noticed, that this blade here was the exact opposite of his own blade. Where this one here was all white, Sasuke's blade was completely black, even the blade itself. The black color helped the blade become virtually invisible when swung. Even light didn't reflect from it when it was in movement. Sasuke had to admit that Hiryuu was the best weapon he had ever used, and was his most treasured. The thought that Naruto was getting its brother, actually made Sasuke happy.

"Are you sur-"

"Save it. My mind's made up. Now go, and give it to him."

Sasuke stood, and bowed deeply to Hogoran, thanking him. He turned to leave, when Hogoran spoke up once more.

"Oh and, wish him happy birthday for me"

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On the outskirts of the village, up on top of the cliff that overshadowed the village, 3 figures cloaked in shadows stood. The smallest of the 3 spoke up.

"We should just go now. I'm sick of waiting." The voice was demanding, and also feminine.

"No. We wait. Dusk tomorrow is when we go." The second one spoke. The voice was soft, yet firm with command.

"Yes, tomorrow is the ideal time. He hates tomorrow, it's a day of hell for him. So, he'll naturally seek solitude. He'll hide away, alone in the dark, away from anyone." The third spoke. Its voice was laced with enjoyment and venom.

"When no one is around, that is when we will go. So wait." The second voice spoke up again.

A slight "humph" was heard from the first voice. "I hate waiting. This village is too peaceful, it's boring." The voice whined.

"Yes…it is quite boring, considering they have a demon living amongst them." the third voice cackled in glee.

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Walking along the silent back streets, Iruka made his way home. He had just left Naruto's apartment. The two talked for quite a while; about missions, the Anbu exams, events in Konoha, and just life in general. Iruka smiled to himself at how much his favorite pupil has matured over the years. Not only physically, but mentally too. It saddened him too, that no matter how much Naruto changed for the better, most of the village still didn't look past his demon label. Tsunade-sama had told Iruka once, that Naruto's worse fear was that his friends would turn against him if they found out that he was the container for the Kyuubi. Naruto treasured his friends above anything else, and he would die to protect them. He didn't want them to abandon him, and leave him alone like when he was little.

"Iruka-sensei!" A voice called to him.

Iruka looked up to find Sasuke walking towards him. Iruka smiled and waved at him. "Ah, hello Sasuke. Long time no see. How are you doing these days?"

"Fine. My missions keep me busy." Sasuke replied. He was just on his way home. Having just recently returned from a mission, Sasuke wanted to get some well deserved rest.

"I bet. The Anbu do have some of the more challenging missions. Oh, what's that you've got?" Iruka noticed the katana that Sasuke held in his hand.

"Naruto's birthday present." Sasuke unwrapped the cloth that covered the katana, and handed it over to Iruka to see.

"Wow, look at this blade! I've never seen anything like it. I'm sure Naruto will be ecstatic when he sees it." Iruka examined the blade for a little bit, before returning it to Sasuke. "I'd give it to him now though. I was just at Naruto's apartment and I think he mentioned something about going on an all day training mission tomorrow, and I doubt you'll ever find him." Iruka suggested. Iruka knew that Naruto liked to get away from village when the festival was going on.

"Shit, then I'd better find him now." Sasuke wrapped the katana back in the cloth. "Leave it to the dobe to leave town on his own birthday." Sasuke then remembered what Sakura was planning for him tomorrow night. "Ah, that's right. Hey Iruka-sensei, you didn't mention to Naruto the dinner going on at Sakura's place tomorrow did you?" Sasuke asked, hoping Iruka hadn't.

Iruka thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "I don't think so. I actually almost forgot about that. I don't think he knows about it either. Why? Should I have told him?"

"No, no. It's good that you didn't. Sakura's actually changing it to a surprise party for him." Sasuke explained. He had nearly forgotten about the party. Now he really had to find Naruto, to keep him from skipping town and missing his own party.

"A party for him, eh? That sounds like a great idea. Naruto deserves something nice like that." Iruka nodded. Inwardly, he was very happy that his friends were actually planning something nice for Naruto. Naruto needed comfort from his friends, more than anyone realized. Iruka secretly hoped that Naruto would actually like it, and not try to run away. Naruto was very sensitive when it came to his birthday.

"Yeah. By the way, if you see Kakashi-sensei, can you threaten him for me to make sure he gets to the party on time." Sasuke frowned, remembering how Kakashi was always late for something.

"Hai, I'll be sure to tell him." Iruka laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Oh, and Sasuke. Don't pester Naruto too much about him wanting to skip town. It's just….something he does every year." Iruka waved, and began walking towards his own apartment.

"Um, alright." Sasuke waved and turned to begin running towards Naruto's apartment.

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Chapter 2 - end!

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Whew! A good chapter in my opinion. Hopefully it explained a few things, and set the stage for the upcoming events to happen.

The idea of the twin katanas wasn't something I originally planned to write, but I liked the idea of Sasuke and Naruto each having a sword that balances each other. Like yin and yang. Light and Dark. I plan to use the swords in the story more often.

Next time! A lot of stuff is going to happen. The chapter will probably be even longer than this one. _The looming shadows over Konoha finally descend!_

The next chapter will probably be posted a little bit later too. Schools starts again for me in 2 days, which means I'll be getting calculus homework once again I hate calculus! I'll try to get the next chapter done in….2 weeks. If I don't get it done by the 15th of Jan. I'll…. Do something special… like an illustration for the story or something -

Oh! I just want to thank all those people who reviewed the first chapter! Lots of love to you all!

Until next time!

-Kou-Tora


	4. The Coming Storm

Disclaimer: Naruto and characters are not owned by me. They are © to Masashi Kishimoto 

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Chapter 3 - The Coming Storm

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One particular trait of the Uchiha clan was their excellent sense of direction. An Uchiha was suppose to know of their location at all times, and the location of their intended target. One Uchiha Sasuke might not have inherited that particular trait. After several hours of wandering, Sasuke was indeed lost. He had planned to visit Naruto tonight, but he was having a little trouble locating the blonde's apartment. Naruto had moved to a new apartment. He had told Sasuke where to find it, but that was over a month ago, and Sasuke couldn't recall the exact directions.

"Perfect, not only did I slip up during my mission and get wounded, but I also forget my best-friend's own birthday and I can't even find the dobe's apartment." Sasuke muttered to himself, his mood dropping into a sulk as he continued to meander around, hoping to find some point of reference that would direct him to the apartment.

As the sun dropped below the horizon, the town was bathed in a warm gold light. Sasuke sighed as he continued walking, his hopes of finding the apartment dwindling. Looking up at the sky to admire the sunset, Sasuke noticed a figure on top of a roof in the distance, a few blocks away. As he walked closer, Sasuke noticed that the figure was none other than Naruto, sitting on his roof, admiring the view. Undetected by the blonde, Sasuke jumped up onto the roof of the building that sat next to Naruto's apartment, so that Naruto's back was facing Sasuke. Sasuke crotched there for a moment, watching the blonde who seemed deep in thought. Sasuke's brows lowered in confusion. What could Naruto be thinking about so deeply, that he didn't even notice Sasuke approach? After another minute, Sasuke leapt onto Naruto's roof, standing slightly behind Naruto.

"Yo." Sasuke spoke in greeting.

Slightly startled by Sasuke's sudden appearance, Naruto turned his head and looked at Sasuke over his shoulder with one eye brow raised.

"You sound like Kakashi-sensei. All you need is the flashy entrance." Naruto sarcastically remarked.

"Hmph, as if I'd become a pervert like him." Sasuke sat himself next to Naruto on the tiled roof, with the Kouryuu sword ,wrapped in cloth, laying next to his thigh to the opposite of Naruto, slightly out of sight.

"I'm sure he would be more than happy to lend you those books he reads." Naruto laughed, turning his attention back to the setting sun.

"He even tries to make me read one, and I'll give it one of my Katon jutsus." Sasuke scowled.

Naruto chuckled as he imagined Kakashi's face if Sasuke had burned his treasured books.

"By the way Naruto, your apartment is too damn hard to find."

"I gave you directions on how to get here. It's not my fault you got lost."

"More like your directions were too hard to follow."

"I told you that my new apartment was exactly between the Hokage Tower and the Hokage monument. I even put my name plate on the front door. How hard is that too follow?" Naruto looked at Sasuke with a smirk. Sasuke just huffed and turned his head in the other direction, unwilling to admit that he had gotten lost because he had forgotten the directions.

"So what are you doing out here anyway? Lose your keys?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of silence.

"I could ask the same thing to you." Naruto replied, not wanting to really answer that particular question. It was one of Naruto's favorite activities to watch the sunset. He'd sit either on his roof or up on top of the Hokage monument, which was his favorite spot in the whole city.

"I was just out for a walk, and thought I'd stop by." Sasuke responded, his eyes set on the horizon which now held a light glow from the falling sun. Overhead a few stars began to shine through the darkening sky.

"And get lost on the way." Naruto added for him.

"Tsk. I did not get lost. I just got…turned around."

"AKA, lost." Naruto smirked. He loved pointing out when Sasuke messes up on something.

"Oh, by the, what happened to your arm?" Naruto pointed to Sasuke's bandaged arm, from where Sasuke had rolled up the sleeves.

"Oh, it's nothing…just a scratch." Sasuke said quietly, rubbing the bandage slightly.

"A scratch that needed that many bandages? I'd hate to see the cat that gave it to you."

"I didn't say I got from a cat, Naruto. I got it while I was on my mission. I got…careless…" Sasuke looked away from Naruto, pouting.

"So the great Uchiha Sasuke IS human after all." Naruto teased with one of his famous fox-grins.

"Shut up. Sakura told me you got wounded too." Sasuke counterattacked.

"Just a few cuts and scrapes. Nothing I couldn't handle." Naruto quickly replied, not liking the subject. He always had a hard time dodging the questions from his friends about how he healed so fast.  
"Hn. Of course. There's nothing you can't handle." Sasuke added in a sarcastic tone.

Naruto merely glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, the last bit of light in the sky reflecting off of the deep blue orbs.

Naruto and Sasuke sat in silence for a while, each just appreciating each other's company. Because each had no family, and each went on dangerous missions frequently, spending time with each other was time never wasted. So they sat there together, watching another sunset.

One could describe Naruto and Sasuke as the moon and sun. Complete opposites, yet they coexists in perfect balance. Where Naruto had grown up to be slim and agile, Sasuke had grown more muscle with slightly broader shoulders. Sasuke was still taller than Naruto of course, but not by much. Naruto's hair had darkened a bit, changing into a deep golden hue. It still held the same wild look, but not so much as it had been when he was a kid. He had let it grown a bit longer, so a few bangs fell around his face slightly. His eyes still held the brilliant blue, but they almost appeared to be pure liquid, as light would reflect and shine within them. Sasuke on the other had kept his hair style the same, with only his bangs grown longer. His eyes resembled pure black pools that led into infinity. That was of course when he didn't have the blood red Sharingan activated.

"You going to the festival tomorrow?" Sasuke finally broke the silence. The sun had now fully set, and the village glowed with the lights of the night time activity.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. The festival. Um, no, I don't think so. I think I'll go on a training trip tomorrow." Naruto softly replied. Another subject he'd rather avoid.

"No you're not." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Nani?" Naruto turned to him in surprise.

"Sakura wants you to go to her place tomorrow night. She said something about needing help with some stuff. She said she's treat us to ramen for dinner." Sasuke lied, trying to bait Naruto with his favorite food.

"But, I've been planning this trip for a month now." Naruto pouted. It wasn't a lie. For the past month Naruto had been trying to get any excuse he could use to leave the village on the day of the festival. He tried and tried to get a mission, but for some reason Tsunade denied any mission he requested. She would give him some excuse like he needed rest or something.

"You're going. I have to go, so you have to go. And if you don't, I'll drag your ass there." Sasuke threatened, looking at Naruto with the infamous Uchiha glare.

Naruto frowned and pouted slightly at Sasuke, before finally sighing in defeat and dropping his head. "Alight, I'll go."

His glare instantly turning into a smirk, Sasuke said "Good" before standing up. Taking the Kouryuu sword that was wrapped in cloth, Sasuke quickly held it out to Naruto. Confused, Naruto took it in both hands and stared up at Sasuke.

"Well, see you tomorrow night at six o'clock then." Sasuke stretched his back and arms before walking over to the edge of the roof. "Oh, and Naruto. Happy Birthday." Sasuke simply said before leaping off the roof without a second glace, disappearing in a blur.

Naruto sat and stared at the spot where Sasuke was just standing, slightly surprised that Sasuke had actually known of his birthday. Looking at the wrapped object that Sasuke had handed him, Naruto began unfolding the cloth. He gasped, and almost dropped it in surprise when he discovered the beautiful katana that lied within it. He stood up and took the katana in his right hand, and unsheathed it with his left. Giving the blade a few quick twirls and slashes in the air, Naruto for once in his life was without words. Why had Sasuke given him such a beautiful weapon? Looking down, Naruto noticed a small piece of paper tuck inside of the cloth that the katana had been wrapped in. Sheathing the katana, Naruto picked up the note and read it.

_Dear Dobe,  
You said that you were taking the Anbu exam soon, so I thought this might come in handy, if you manage to pass. This katana here is Kouryuu, which was made by old man Hogoran in the central market. Next time I see you I'll tell you more about it. I guess this means I'll have to train you to fight with it too. So don't cut off your own limbs before then._

_Happy Birthday - Sasuke_

_P.S. Don't forget, Six o'clock at Sakura's. Be there, or I'll kill you._

'Sasuke-teme….' Naruto couldn't help but notice all the little insults Sasuke had managed to slip into a simple birthday note. One, he called Naruto 'Dobe' right off, which Naruto personally thought he had grown out of that nickname by now. Sasuke was the only one who found pleasure in his sadistic mind to keep calling Naruto 'dead-last'. Also, Sasuke had subtly mentioned how he thought Naruto might not pass the Anbu exam. And, Sasuke found yet another skill that he excelled in more than Naruto could. Though both Sasuke and Naruto had matured over the years, they both found ways to overachieve and outmaneuver the other.

Naruto smiled softly to himself. For the first time in that whole week, Naruto felt truly happy and at peace. That happiness however was short lived. Standing there on the rooftop, Naruto caught sight of some villagers who were walking in the street below. His sensitive ears caught their hushed whispers.

"Look, it's that demon-boy."

"What's he doing up there at this time of night? Looks suspicious."

"He looks like he's about to go and kill something, with that sword."

"He certainly does look like a monster. Why does the Hokage keep him around? She knows he's a danger."

"The Hokage favors the boy for some reason. I don't know how anyone could love a demon."

"They should just send him on some super S-class mission and hope he gets killed."

"It should have been dead a long time ago."

Lowering his head so that his bangs covered his eyes, Naruto silently dropped from the roof and to his apartment door. Quickly opening it and shutting it again, Naruto made sure to lock all three locks he had installed onto his door. Slowly he made his way into his bedroom, checking all of the windows on the way to make sure they too were all locked. Placing the katana on his dresser, Naruto flopped onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. There, in the dark, with no one else around, Naruto let his mask fall. Closing his eyes and draping his arm over them, fought to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. He had promised himself not to cry anymore. Crying never fixed anything. A nightly routine for him, Naruto battled with the depression that threatened to take over.

Opening his eyes again, Naruto turned his head to look at Kouryuu. Naruto still couldn't believe Sasuke had gotten that for him. The katana would certainly become a great weapon. Naruto had seen Sasuke use his own katana. It was swift and silent. When Naruto had watched Sasuke train with it, he could barely follow its movements, and it wasn't until the target fell into two pieces, that Naruto realized the katana had struck. Naruto smiled at the thought of using it to help himself pass the Anbu exams.

Suddenly Naruto frowned and turned his head away from the katana, so that he was looking at the ceiling. The thought of the Anbu exams brought up a rather unpleasant topic. It's true that Naruto wanted to be an Anbu, and he did really feel that he was more then ready, but the fact was that the council wasn't ready. If it wasn't for Tsunade's strong argument to the council, Naruto wouldn't have never made it to even Jounin level. The council strongly felt that giving Naruto too much power would put themselves and the village in danger.

Naruto really wanted to become an Anbu, to further prove himself to the village, but deep down he knew that his chances of being accepted as Anbu were slim. Before the last Anbu exam, Tsunade had asked Naruto personally not to participate. She wanted him to wait so that she could build up a good argument to the council in Naruto's defense to allow him to become Anbu.

Naruto had a lot to thank Tsunade for. If it wasn't for her protectiveness over him, Naruto probably would've had a mental breakdown by now. With Tsunade personally guarding Naruto from the council's wrath, he was able to show his worth. Without Tsunade, Naruto probably would still be a chuunin, receiving the worse possible missions. Thanks to her, he was given missions that best suited his abilities and was challenging enough to build his skills. Hell, without Tsunade, Naruto would've never been able to move into his new apartment. Tsunade had practically forced the landlord to sell Naruto the apartment at a reasonable price, and she made sure no one could harass him. Internally, Naruto felt useless because he wasn't able to do all of these things without her help. But at the same time he was happy that she was looking out for him, because she cared for him. To Naruto, Tsunade was an over-protective mother, and to Tsunade, Naruto was like a son who she secretly had already chosen as her successor.

Hanging onto the thoughts of his birthday present and Tsunade's watchful eye, Naruto drifted off into a state of unconsciousness.

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It was the distant sound of waves splashing against steel bars and a low rumble that brought Naruto's drowsy mind to focus in on his surrounding. It took only moments for him to realize his current state.

"YAWN…….What do you want, stupid fox. I was _trying_ to sleep." Naruto called out into the tall steel cage cell that stood before him. Rubbing his eyes, he waded through the ankle deep water and approached the cage bars. A lower rumble and the slight tingle of the toxic red chakra announced the fox's presence, and current mood.

"Brat…you're slacking off." The Kyuubi's voice bellowed through the chamber, and his large head emerged from the darkness. Approaching the cage bars, the great fox demon laid down close to it, with his head resting on his front paws, and the great nine tales swishing slightly by his side.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto sat down near the front of the cage, facing Kyuubi.

"You've been letting your guard down far too often. Your senses are dulling." Kyuubi snapped back, eyes flaring in annoyance.

"My senses are just fine! It's you who's been getting all worked up unnecessarily. What's got your tails all in a knot this time?" Naruto had taken quick note of Kyuubi's apparent moody attitude. Not that it wasn't uncommon for Kyuubi to be moody, he was just moodier than usual. It worried Naruto that the Kyuubi showed signs of nervousness and restlessness. Because of the two's container/contained relationship, they both were able to pick up and sense each other's emotions and occasional thoughts. The Kyuubi being older and wiser, and the fact that he was currently living inside of Naruto, was able to pick up a lot of Naruto's true thoughts and feelings, the ones he masks from the people in the outside world. Naruto, however, was able to pick up on Kyuubi's emotions only in rare occurrences, mainly because Kyuubi was far better at concealing his emotions from Naruto, than Naruto was at concealing his from Kyuubi. If Naruto was able to read Kyuubi's emotions this easily, then something must be going on.

"What are you so worked up about?" Naruto asked again, when Kyuubi seemed to have ignored him.

"Something…is out there." Kyuubi spoke in a hushed whisper.

"Something…is out there? Like the Akatsuki!" Naruto shot out, hoping it wasn't. The S-class criminal group had become a real nuisance lately, and they were not something Naruto wanted to deal with at the moment.

Kyuubi just snorted in a mock laugher. "No kit. I do not fear them. And no, they are not the ones I am sensing right now." "Then who, or what?" Naruto asked, confused and worried about what it could be that could upset Kyuubi so much.

"I don't….I don't know _what_ it is. All I know is that it's coming."

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Again, my apologies for the extremely late delay. But, fear not! I've have regained my writer's ambition, and I'm already diligently working on Chap. 4. Originally, all of the events in chapter 4 were all going to take place in chapter 3, but I decided to split it up, so that (a) I can get this chapter out faster to you and (b) The next chapter has a LOT of stuff going on in it, and I felt it would be better to put it all in a new chapter

So, what's going to take place in chapter 4? Well, the party scene for one, and the first MAJOR action scene. And I mean major! All I can say is….I'm so sorry Naruto! Please forgive me for what I've done to you…

Hehe…ok, enough with the suspense. I'll get back to work on chap. 4 now. Maybe I'll include an illustration to go with it -

-Kou Tora


	5. The Enemy's Shadow pt 1

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Chapter Four - The Enemy's Shadow -pt 1

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The day of October 10th was a day of both celebration and mourning. On this day, 18 years ago, the great nine-tailed fox demon, Kyuubi, was defeated. Many lives were lost in that great battle, including the life of the greatest Hokage that ever lived, Yondaime. He was the one who sacrificed his life to defeat the rampaging demon, and saving the village from total destruction. Thus a legend was created, and 18 years later, that legend was still remembered.

The festival lasted the entire day, though most of the activities and events didn't occur until nightfall. During the day, the marketplace was filled with excitement. The hustle and bustle of busy shoppers never ended, especially on a festival day. A special honorary monument was set up, with all the names of the fallen inscribed on it, so that loved ones and family may mourn and pray. The Academy was closed for the day, as well as the Hokage tower, as no missions were given out. Even the Hokage decided to give herself the day off, despite the mounds of paperwork that currently surrounded her.

Inside her office, the Godaime Hokage, was sound asleep. Oblivious to the outside world, Tsunade had her head rested on her arms which where folded on top of the pieces of paperwork she had been previously working on, before her sudden urge to take an afternoon nap. A slight knocking of her office door and a murmured voice on the other side suddenly woke the sleeping woman, and she mindless called whoever was on the other side to enter. Tsunade's medical assistant, Shizune, quickly entered, her hands filled with multiple folders and scrolls. The pig, Ton-ton, quickly followed Shizune in.

"What is it now Shizune? I'm busy, as you can see." Tsunade grumbled as she bit back the urge to yawn. 'What time was it?' She mentally questioned.

"I can see that…Tsunade-sama." Shizune sarcastically mumbled.

After working with Tsunade for so many years, she wasn't fooled. It was clear that Tsunade had been sleeping, which was visible from the drowsy look on Tsunade's face, and the fact that they giant piles of paperwork had yet to diminish from the last time Shizune checked up on Tsunade; 3 hours ago.

Clearing her throat, Shizune walked over to the Hokage's desk, and deposited all of the folders and scrolls which she had been carrying.

"Here are the current medical reports, and the new guard duty schedule, as well as the new mission requests, all of which need your review and approval." Shizune smiled innocently, internally laughing at Tsunade's current look of disgust and hate at the piles of paperwork. What Tsunade wouldn't give to just ignite the entire pile.

A second knock on the office door caught the attention of both women. Before Tsunade could even say 'Enter', the door swung open wide, and in came Koharu, one of the village's elder council members. Even though she was short compared to the Hokage, she had no problem with voicing her opinion rather loudly. A look of displeasure and annoyance was written across the old woman's face. Sighing, Tsunade gave a slight smirk and interlaced her fingers together, looking straight at council member.

"Good day, Koharu-san. What do I owe the honor of this sudden visit?" Tsunade smoothly spoke, with a hint of sarcasm. It took all her power to resist the urge to just leap out of her office window right then and there. Tsunade never liked, nor fully cooperated with the village elders, and used every tactic possible to evade them. To Tsunade, they were just a bunch of nagging old fools who loved to just hear themselves talk.

"Tsunade-sama, I was just informed that you will not be attending the dinner with the Fire Country Lord this evening. I certainly hope that this was a misunderstanding." the elder spoke with a quick tongue.

'So that's what this is about…Oh this is going to get ugly' Tsunade internally cringed.

"I'm sorry to say but that isn't a mistake. I have other things that I must attend to, and will not be able to join you for dinner." Tsunade gave the elder a wide and slightly over joyous grin.

Apparently that wasn't the answer Koharu was looking for. Her face continued to grow tighter and redder in her apparent internal rage.

"And _what_ may I ask is more important than the traditional dinner with the Fire Country Lord?" Koharu insisted, taking a few steps towards Tsunade's desk, trying her best to look intimidating.

"There is another dinner which I agreed to attend, and that is the one I'll be going to." Tsunade was quick to answer.

"With _who_?" Koharu demanded, placing her hands on Tsunade's desk and bracing herself slightly, locking eyes with the Hokage.

"A good friend of mine." Tsunade chose to be vague in her reply.

"_Who_?" Koharu demanded once again.

Tsunade didn't reply. She just stared back at the elder, with a blank expression on her face, telling Koharu that she had no intention of giving the name. Koharu internally seethed in rage, but kept her exterior expression calm…that was until she figured out who Tsunade was visiting.

"It's that demon-brat isn't it?" Koharu spoke through clenched teeth. It was Tsunade's turn to show anger. Slamming her fists forcefully onto her desk, so hard that small cracks began to appear, Tsunade rose from her chair and towered above the old woman.

"I do not want to EVER hear you call him that again, or so help me god, I will bring my full wrath upon your doorstep. Do you understand me?" Tsunade threatened the elder.

Koharu didn't bother to reply. With a swift motion, she was storming out into the hallway, slamming the door behind her. Sitting back down in her chair with a heavy sigh, Tsunade rubbed her forehead slightly, feeling a headache coming on.

"That…went well." Shizune finally spoke, after watching the entire conversation. Her sarcasm wasn't missed by Tsunade.

"Those damn elders must get a kick out of making my job as difficult as possible." Tsunade turned her head and gazed out the window, looking at nothing in particular. After a brief moment, Tsunade began to chuckle to herself. "Remind me later to thank Sakura for giving me a perfect excuse to skip that dinner. I hate those formal events as much as I'm hating this pile of paperwork in front of me right now."

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The mid-afternoon sun settled high in the sapphire sky, causing an unnatural heat wave for an October day. Deep within the forest that circles around the village, the resident demon-vessel of Konoha was hard at work training his skills as a shinobi. With all the excitement going around in the village itself, Naruto didn't dare attempt to workout at the training grounds. He'd only attract unwanted attention. So he decided to find solitude in the nearby forests. He wasn't out far out from Konoha though. Just by a few miles. With the continuous threat of Akatsuki, Tsunade had forbidden him from leaving the village without permission, and especially alone. Plus, he had already promised Sasuke that he'd go to Sakura's house that evening, so he couldn't go far anyway.

Tossing his remaining kunai at the many targets he had set up, hitting all dead-center, Naruto jumped to the forest floor and leaned up against a nearby tree trunk, breathing heavily. He'd been out here all morning, and didn't even stop for lunch, not that he'd brought any with him. Wiping his brow and sighing heavily, Naruto closed his eyes and took comfort in the solitude of the forest. Whenever he felt suffocated and confined by the village, all Naruto had to do was seek the comfort of the forest canopy. It was one of his favorite places to be at true peace; the other being on top of the Hokage mountain.

A slight fuzzy sensation in the back of his head alerted him that a particular demon was trying to get his attention. Sighing, and letting his consciousness slip, Naruto retreated to the back of his mind.

A slightly too familiar setting appeared before him once again. "What do you want Kyuubi? It's not like you to harass me so early in the day." Naruto yelled into the steel cage.

"Shut up brat and listen to me." The demon snapped angrily, appearing in front of the blond shinobi.

Naruto immediately quieted. Kyuubi was acting far too strange. Kyuubi talking to him last night wasn't out of the ordinary, but the warning he had given Naruto was. And now here he was again, in broad daylight, standing in front of the Kyuubi's cage and facing his temper. If Kyuubi was this persistent, than something must be going on.

"Return to the village immediately. It's not safe out here." Kyuubi quickly spoke.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. It wasn't often that Kyuubi surprised him. Naruto looked at Kyuubi, waiting for an explanation.

"Now, I know this isn't exactly your favorite day of the year, but you need to trust me on this one. The woods aren't safe. You need to be in the village." The Kyuubi continued, though he was being stubbornly vague.

"Why?" Naruto persisted.

"It's out there…somewhere. I can't sense it, but I can feel it." Kyuubi muttered, his eyes focused off to the side, as if he was in mid thought.

"Kyuubi, you're not making any sense. You didn't last night, and you're not now. What is out there that you're so afraid of?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Kyuubi roared, his tails flailing out in irritation. "I don't know what it is, all I know is that something is out there. Something that is making me feel uneasy. Like something in the back of my head is whispering to me to be wary."

Naruto rubbed his ears in annoyance. "While you may have a whispering voice in your head, I have you in my head, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell." Kyuubi just flattened his ears and growled low. "Ok, ok! I get it! I'll go back to the village. Though I hope this is nothing more than just you being paranoid." Naruto finally gave in, though he was pretty pissed that he had to go back to the place of his current distress.

Suddenly Kyuubi titled his head to the side and lifted on ear, as if something caught his attention. After a moment, he growled lowly.

"Kit, you have company coming this way." Kyuubi finally spoke.

"Hmm? Who?" Naruto asked, curious as to who could be coming all the way out here in the middle of the woods.

"Anbu, from the feel of their chakra. Two of them. Probably on patrol around the boarder." Kyuubi mumbled.

"Shit. I don't want to deal with them now." Naruto cursed loudly. Both Naruto and Kyuubi hated the senior Anbu members. They were the ones that remembered Kyuubi's attack 18 years ago, and they were the ones who still held the strongest grudge against him. During the attack, the Anbu were the ones who fought the demon the most, and they were the ones who took the most causalities. So naturally the surviving Anbu still held a vendetta against the demon-vessel.

"Don't bother trying to hide your chakra. They already sensed you, and are almost here. Just pack up your stuff and get back to the village." Kyuubi gave Naruto some parting words before he flung Naruto's consciousness back into reality.

'Yes _Mother_' Naruto sarcastically replied to Kyuubi's fussing. Even though the demon tried not to take any part in Naruto's life, there were times like this that Naruto found it odd when the demon showed a protective and almost motherly nature. Naruto snickered at this last thought 'A motherly Kyuubi.' Kyuubi's probably pissed at that comment.

"What are you laughing at, demon-brat?" A cold voice cut through the air, attracting Naruto's attention.

Two figures quickly appeared from the tree tops above. As Kyuubi predicted, they were Anbu. Both dressed in the traditional Anbu uniforms, and each wielding a katana strapped to their backs. The taller of the two wore a coyote-painted mask, while the other wore a rat-painted mask. The two Anbu walked over to the blond, and began to circle him slowly, as if he was prey.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A little fox-demon, lost in the middle of the woods?" The coyote Anbu sneered.

"Hehehe, he looks suspicious to me." The rat-masked one chucked.

"Listen guys, I was just out here training. I'm heading back to village now." Naruto attempted to make peace, holding up his hands showing he didn't want to fight.

"Sure you were. And we were just out for a picnic." The taller replied, stopping in front of the blond and stepping closer to him. The coyote Anbu was at least 4-5 inches taller than Naruto, so he used this advantage to try intimidate the blond. The coyote Anbu stared down Naruto, locking eyes with him. Naruto never flinched, nor backed down. After a brief silence, the coyote Anbu clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I don't get it. What is it about you that pisses me off so much? Is it that fact that the Hokage favors you so much? Or the fact that you're allowed to be a ninja? Or could it be the fact that YOU'RE STILL FUCKING ALIVE?" In a flash, the coyote Anbu grabbed Naruto by the hair with one hand, and swiftly ground his knee into the blonde's stomach. Naruto doubled over in pain, his knees hitting the ground and his arms wrapped around his waist. Biting his lip to silence a cry of pain, Naruto lifted his head and glared at the Anbu who stood over him, laughing.

"How does that feel demon? You know what that is? It's called pain. Get use to it." And with that, the two Anbu began to beat on Naruto, kicking and punching him repeatedly. It's true, Naruto could fight back, he could run away, but he didn't. It would only lead to worse things. If tried to run, the Anbu would tell their friends, and they would come back in an even larger group. If he fought back, they'd report it to the council, saying he was violent and lost control. So Naruto took the blows, and the pain that came with it.

What seemed liked an eternity, the Anbu stopped finally. Naruto laid crumbled on the forest floor. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, and his clothing was bloodied and torn. He was panting heavily, and his eyes remained closed. A bird flew over head, giving out a cry to the Anbu below. They both looked up momentarily, before standing straight and stepping back.

"You're in luck demon. The Hokage is calling for us." The two Anbu laughed, and swiftly departed.

Naruto laid there, slowly calculating his injuries. He was lucky, nothing appeared to be broken. His insides hurt like crazy, and it's possible he had a few bruised ribs. Sitting up, he rubbed his sides carefully.

'Shit.' he thought 'These will take a little while to heal.'

Standing slowly, his legs slightly shaking, Naruto began the slow painful walk back to his apartment. He sighed, and took note of the time. It was around 3 p.m. he guessed, which only gave him a few hours to clean himself up before he went to Sakura's. He absolutely couldn't let her find out that he was injured. If she found out, she'd start asking questions which he couldn't answer, and then things would just spiral downwards from there. He inwardly hoped that Kyuubi would heal him enough so no one would notice.

---------------------------

Later in the village, two kunoichi were rushing about a mid-sized apartment, making preparations for an event later that night.

"Sakura! Where were those extra party ribbons? I thought you said there were in the cabinet." The blonde, Ino, yelled to her pink haired friend who was currently cooking in the kitchen.

"They are in the cabinet. Look in the box labeled 'sewing kit'." Sakura replied, while checking the multiple pots of food she had cooking on her stove.

"Ah ha! Found it! Why were they in a sewing box?" Ino appeared in the kitchen, holding a roll of bright multicolored paper ribbon.

"Long story. How about you set those up above the table and around the living room." Sakura pointed with the spoon she was currently holding.

"I can't believe that little ingrate, not telling us his birthday. I mean, Sasuke of all people had to find out, and tell us." Ino rambled on as she began stringing the ribbons above the table along the ceiling. "I wonder why he never told us. You'd think he'd be jumping up and down screaming to us that his birthday was coming up."

"Maybe he doesn't like his birthday." Sakura spoke aloud.

"Why would you say that?" Ino questioned.

"Well, obviously I've known Naruto since we were 12, back when we were on team 7. Now that I think back on it, not once do I remember him ever talking about his birthday. It's like he hates the day October 10th."

"Well, it is kind of a coincidence that he was born on the exact day the Kyuubi-demon was killed. I would think he would like having a festival on his birthday." Ino pointed out.

"Naruto's never even around during the festival. Every year I've tried to invite him to go, but he always just…disappears." Sakura's inner instincts tell her that there's some connection between Naruto's birthday, the festival, and the reason why he keeps it a secret. However, she was interrupted from further examining those thoughts when Ino came bounding into the kitchen, and peered over her shoulder.

"Jeez Sakura, how many people did you invite? There's enough food here to feed an army." Ino took note at the wide variety of food Sakura was preparing.

"Oh, you know, the usual people. Your team, my team, Hinata's team and Lee's team, as well as the senseis, Shizune and Tsunade-sama." Sakura slapped Ino's hand away when she tried to sample a small bit.

"So, pretty much everyone." Ino shock her head and smiled. She wondered if there was enough alcohol to go around. With both Kiba and Tsunade coming, there had to be liquor.

The doorbell ringing got both their attention, and Ino quickly went to the door. There stood Shikamaru and Chouji, each dressed in casual - yet stylish looking clothing. When Sakura began organizing the party, she specifically told everyone that ninja uniforms were banned, and anyone wearing one wouldn't be let through the front door.

"Ah, my two favorite guys! Good, you're early. You can help set things up." Ino smiled and lead them into the apartment.

"We're early? You told us 5 p.m. was the start of the party." Chouji frowned, munching on a few potato chips.

"I know I did. This way you can help us move some furniture around, and get things ready." Ino inwardly applauded herself for getting the two here early just so they could help out.

"Tch. How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, as he was expecting Ino to pull something like this. Though he knew better than to try to skip out and come at the real time, as Ino would probably give him an earful. Women were so bothersome.

Over the years, the trio of team 10 continued to be close friends. Surprisingly, the laziest of the three, Shikamaru, was the only one to make it to jounin rank. Both Ino and Chouji were content enough to stay chuunin. When asked why he wanted to become jounin, when the missions were much more dangerous, Shikamaru would never give a real reason. He would simply give his typical response, that it was "too troublesome to explain.". Though everyone suspected that it had something to do with the sand jounin Temari. It was almost common knowledge that Shikamaru wouldn't let a woman get the better of him, while Temari seemed to get a kick out of motivating the notoriously lazy shinobi.

Ino had branched off from her family's flower shop, and recently built a small greenhouse of her own. However, flowers weren't her main business anymore. Instead. Ino specialized in growing special medical herbs. Tsunade was the one who brought the proposal to Ino, as Tsunade wanted someone who was very knowledgeable with plants to run a new project. Tsunade wanted a nearby source for fresh medical herbs, but also wanted to start experimenting with hybrid-grown medical plants for future use. Ino was more than happy to take on the task.

Chouji was…well, same old Chouji. He was a constant of the three, always there to lend a helping hand whenever needed. Though at the moment, Chouji had no real set plan as to what he wanted to do with his life, he had mentioned a few times that he was contemplating opening his own restaurant.

"Hey Shika, did you remember to tell Kiba and his team to come like I asked you?" Ino called from the kitchen where she was helping Sakura.

"Yeah yeah, and since you told me 5 p.m., I told them 5 p.m." Shikamaru grunted as he and Chouji pushed a couch to the far wall.

As if on cue, there was a light tapping on the door, shortly followed by a loud rapping.

"It's open!" Called Ino

The door quickly flew open, and in came Konoha's resident canine-trainer with a howl.

"Woo! Guess who's got booze! Let's get this party started!" Kiba howled, waltzing straight into the apartment while waving around several cases of various alcohols. Akamaru, now so big his head reached Kiba's waist, barked a greeting, while carrying in his mouth a plastic bag which appeared to be full of more booze.

"Good evening everyone. Please excuse Kiba's intrusion." The polite Hyuuga Hinata stepped in, giving a slight bow, while carrying several packages. She noticed Sakura and Ino inside the kitchen, and decided to join them.

A third figure quietly entered, and softly closed the door behind him. Not bothering to voice his arrival, the always silent Shino walked over to the howling Kiba and promptly took the bags of alcohol from him and Akamaru, before they got a little too excited and broke them.

Walking out of the kitchen to see how Shikamaru and Chouji were doing with rearranging the furniture, Sakura stopped in front of the bouncing tawny dog. "Now listen here, Akamaru, I see any kind of scratch, dig, or stain anywhere in this apartment, it's on your tail. Got it? And Kiba, this goes double for you." She firmly explained to the hyperactive duo. Kiba just gave her a sheepish grin and a salute, while Akamaru gave a whine of understanding.

"By the way, where is everyone else? I thought we were late." Kiba asked, noticing how there were still several people missing.

"Oh! That's my fault. I gave Shika the wrong time, so he told you the wrong time. It really doesn't start until six." Ino from the kitchen laughed. Shikamaru didn't even bother to respond, just simply rolled his eyes.

"Six! But..but…I don't think I brought enough booze to last an extra hour…guess that means I'll just have to go out and get some more." Kiba whined, immediately plopping down onto the love-seat that Shikamaru and Chouji were trying to move.

"Kiba, we're not even of legal age to be drinking, let alone buying alcohol. Dare I ask how you got it?" Sakura inquired.

Kiba just laughed sheepishly, while rubbing his hands together. "Let's just say…I have connections."

Sighing, Sakura checked the time before making her way back into the kitchen to see how the food was coming. After making sure nothing was burning or over cooked, Sakura returned to the living area to watch Shikamaru and Chouji try to convince both Kiba and Akamaru to move from the loveseat that they were suppose to move, while Kiba took a swig of a beer that had mysteriously appeared in his hand. Smiling, Sakura quietly thought to herself. 'This is all for you Naruto. We're all coming together for you.'

-------------------

Ok, this is only part 1. Originally, this was going to be one solild chapter, but then it started getting long...like really long. So I decided to split it up. The second past is about 75 finished, so it should be up fairly shortly. In another few days, I'd guess.

And thank you everyone for the reviews! They make me want to write even more!


	6. The Enemy's Shadow pt 2

A loud sneeze echoed through said blonde shinobi's apartment. Rubbing his nose and sniffing, Naruto stepped out of the shower.

"Someone must be talking about me." Naruto laughed, toweling himself off. Most of the cuts and bruises had managed to heal since his little encounter in the woods with the ANBU, but his ribcage still hurt. If he was careful, he maybe able to fake it, and fool the others_. __Maybe_ was the key word. Sasuke was just a little too annoyingly perceptive, and Sakura was one of the top medic-nins, so either of them could suspect something. He'd just have to be extra careful. Anyway, if he was found out, he could just feign stupidity and say he slipped up during a training exercise. The stupidity and klutz act, though not as useful as it use to be, still worked occasionally.

Wrapping the towel around his waist and exiting his bathroom, Naruto quickly entered his bedroom, and began rustling through his dresser for some relatively nice clothes. Choosing a simple skin-tight black tank-top with loose khaki pants, and a dark brown vest as suitable attire, Naruto turned around just in time to her the soft chime of a single bell, and the silhouette of a shadow swiftly retreating from his open window. Blinking in surprise, Naruto threw the clothes onto his bed and walked over to the window. There, on the windowsill, sat a white envelope. Sighing, he casually picked up the envelope and opened it, revealing a folded letter. Reading it quickly, Naruto chuckled.

"Under the 'Peak of the Night Sun' huh? So she had comes _now_ of all times? Geez, I wonder what she wants from me this time." Naruto tossed the letter onto a nearby desk that was set in the corner of the room, and began to dress himself.

Once fully dressed, Naruto returned to the bathroom to give himself a quick check-over, and exited to his living room.

'5:45... I still have some time before I go to Sakura's. Maybe I'll practice a little with my newest birthday present.' Naruto grinned as he grabbed the white katana and held it in his hands, feeling it's weight. Stepping into the middle of his living room, where there was the most open space, Naruto took a stance he had once seen Sasuke use. Closing his eyes in concentration, he paused. Quickly, without warning, he unsheathed the blade, slicing it through the air. Naruto was amazed at the perfect feel the katana had. Not to heavy, not to light. Nor was it to long or too short. He felt as if this blade was made just for him.

Taking a few more practice swings, Naruto sheathed the sword once more. Holding it up to the light, Naruto smiled.

"Kouryuu was it? Well Kouryuu, I have a feeling you and I are going to good partners from now on." Naruto spoke to the blade.

"You know, talking to yourself is considered to first signs of insanity." A voice cut in from behind him.

Spinning around, Naruto was so startled by the voice he almost wasn't able to dodge the kunai that came flying at his head. Jumping to the side and into an attack position, Naruto faced the source of the voice. An unknown young man, about a half a foot taller than Naruto, stood leaning against the doorway leading out to his balcony. His hair was light, almost a pure white, and was tied behind his head in a long ponytail. He was dressed entirely in black clothes, with the exception of a red bandana tied around his upper arm. A wide grin was plastered on his face, but the thing that stood out the most was his eyes. Blue in color, but as cold as ice, and held the intensity of a veteran killer.

"Who the hell are you!?" Naruto yelled to the man, but the stranger gave no answer. He just simply continued to smile. Naruto couldn't tell where the man was from. There was no metal forehead protector showing which village he may be from, nor was his style of clothing familiar to Naruto. "Fine, don't tell me. But I do want to know why you're here." Naruto continued.

"That's simple. You have something that we want, and we've come to take it." Another voice cut it, once again from behind Naruto.

"What the hell!?" Turning partially around Naruto saw the second voice. There, stood a woman. Shorter than both Naruto and the other man, but she too was dressed in similar clothing, including the red bandana, which was tied around her neck. She had shorter red hair, which cut rather clean and neatly. A intricate black and blue tattoo spiraled around her neck and around her left arm. As far as Naruto could tell, it didn't appear to be any special seal or use for a jutsu.

Moving slowly so that each enemy was to either side of him, Naruto watched each of them carefully.

"Something I have? And what would that be?" Naruto asked in a calm yet hard voice, while his hands gripped the katana so hard his knuckles turned white. He was in a pretty bad position. He was up against two unknown enemies who he didn't even hear yet alone sense approach, and his only weapon was Kouryuu, which he never trained with. All of his equipment was still in his weapons pouch in his bedroom.

"The very thing that has defined your whole existence." A third voice answered.

Appearing from down the hallway where his bathroom and bedroom were, another man came into view. He was clearly taller than all of them, with an extremely powerful aura surrounding him. He was dressed like the other two, but this time the red bandana was around his forehead. A black hood covered his head and shadows were cased over his face, so Naruto couldn't tell what this person was like.

"The very thing that…defined my…existence…"Naruto's voice trailed off as his brain finally registered what the man meant.

"That's _right_ The nine-tailed demon fox, Kyuubi!" The first man laughed, taking a step into the room.

Fear now gripped Naruto, as it was now clear what their target was. Unsheathing the katana, Naruto held it in front of him, his eyes darting around the room for an opening of escape. In that very instant, the white-haired man appeared in front of Naruto. Gripping Naruto's wrist hard, the man shook his head, still with that evil grin on his face.

"Tsk tsk tsk, naughty little demons shouldn't play with sharp objects." The man gave Naruto's wrist a painful twist, making him cry out in pain and drop the katana. Taking his other hand, the man quickly punched Naruto in the gut, making him gasp for breath and his knees collapse. Still laughing, apparently at Naruto's pain, the man picked up the katana, and began to examine it.

"My my…what a pretty little sword. A birthday present was it? From someone special, no less. I wonder how sharp it is…" The man rambled on, as he admired the blade.

Naruto, in what he thought was his opponent's carelessness, leapt to the side, and attempted to run for the unguarded balcony door. Several kunai landed in front of his feet, making him freeze. The other two black clothed enemies apparently weren't just going to stand there. Picking up two of the kunai at his feet, Naruto decided to see just how strong they were. Making his trademark signs, Naruto used Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to make two more clones of himself. Nodding to his clones, Naruto ran after the woman, with the kunais in hand. The other two clones charged after the other two enemies.

Swinging his kunai to attack the woman, Naruto was forced to dodge to the side before he could complete his attack, when another kunai came flying at him. He didn't however, see the two kunai from behind, as both hit their target. One imbedded itself into his side, while the other in his upper shoulder. Pulling them out quickly, while ignoring the pain, Naruto began to gather chakra into his right palm. 'A rasengan would take at least one of them out', Naruto thought. Taking the kunai he had in his left hand, Naruto charged the woman again, rasengan fully charged. However, again the white haired man appeared in front of him in a flash.

All Naruto saw was a bright flash, and then there was just pain. He looked down to see Kouryuu imbedded all the way through his right hand, the one where the rasengan had been. The blade had cut through the rasengan, and sliced through the middle of Naruto's palm, coming out the other side of his hand. The kunai in his left hand clattered to the floor, as both of his arms shook with pain. Biting back a cry of pain, Naruto pulled the blade from his hand. His right hand dropped to his side, as his left weakly gripped the now bloody katana. Looking over his shoulder, Naruto took notice of the taller man, who apparently hadn't moved from the spot he was standing in since he first appeared.

'When did my clones disappear?' Naruto mentally thought.

Jumping back into the middle of the room, Naruto once again did the signs for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and created two more clones. His hand hurt like hell, but the pain had to be ignored. His life, and possibly the lives of many others were at stake here. He couldn't allow them to take Kyuubi.

"Are you doing that again? Just give it up." The white haired man sighed, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I'm not the kind of person to just roll over and let people walk all over me." Naruto replied, while signaling his clones to get ready.

"Oh? You mean like when you let those Anbu kick the shit out of you earlier?" The white man laughed again. Naruto just frowned. 'They were there watching when that happened?' He thought. 'Why didn't they attack me then?' Nothing at this point was making sense. 'Who are they?'

Deciding to attack first and ask questions later, Naruto charged forward once again, Kouryuu ready to strike.

--

"SASUKE-KUN!" A loud shrieking voice was Sasuke's only warning when entering Sakura's apartment, before being tackled by a blonde blur.

"Ino…this is getting really old…" Sasuke mumbled and attempted to detach the blonde-haired kunoichi who had arm arms clamped around his mid-section.

"Aww.. Sasuke. You know how old habits die hard. Plus, you know you secretly like it." Ino giggled and winked at him.

"As if. Now get off." Sasuke firmly pushed the girl off him and scowled in annoyance.

"Hehe, now now. You can't have a face like that for a birthday party. You need to smile! This is a celebration!" Ino attempted to reach up and pinch Sasuke's cheek, but her wrist was caught just short by Sasuke's hand.

"Just give the bastard a beer and leave him alone Ino!" Kiba called from across the room and waving around his own beer. He was camped on the couch with a dozing Shikamaru, who also had a beer in hand.

"Kiba! What is that? Your third beer?! Give it a rest, you booze-hound!" Ino yelled and stomped over to him, while Kiba just gave her a howl in response.

Using Kiba's distraction, Sasuke slid away from Ino's attention and stealthily entered the kitchen, where Sakura was putting the final touches on the meal, along with Hinata.

"Damn it. Does she have to do that every time she sees me?" Sasuke grumbled and straightened out his shirt, trying to remove some of the wrinkles from where Ino had her vice-grip on him. Sakura just watched him with a smirk. She remembered Naruto mentioning once that Sasuke often fretted over his appearance like a girl, and she actually agreed with him.

Taking a long look at his appearance, Sakura was a little surprised. Dressed in his usual colors, Sasuke wore a deep navy blue collared shirt, which was tucked into black dress pants. His hair was more combed back then usual, with some of his unruly bangs gelled and pushed back behind his ears. Sakura couldn't remember Sasuke dressing so formally before.

Turning back to the food she was preparing, Sakura attempted to hide her smile. "Oh, Ino's just trying to ruffle your feathers like usual. You know she doesn't mean any harm. She's just messing with you because she _knows_ you hate it." Which Sakura honestly meant. Both she and Ino had long let go of their crushes over Sasuke. While both girls just treat their relationship with Sasuke as just friends, Ino tended to show such "friendship" in a different way. Ino now made it her goal to embarrass and annoy Sasuke in every way possible. This included everything that the Uchiha tries to avoid, from flirting, tackling, childish pranks, and the occasional grope. Sasuke secretly thinks that she's taking lessons from Naruto, because between the two, the two blondes are a formidable force against the Uchiha in terms of breaking his personal-space bubble.

"Yeah well, it's damn annoying." Sasuke continued to scowl.

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the doorframe. Peaking his head around the corner, Sasuke scanned the living room, taking in who was already here. Kiba and Shikamaru were camped out on the couch, with Ino now trying to squeeze herself in between the two. She was attempting to wake up the unconscious Shikamaru by poking him awake.

'Better him then me.' Sasuke just shivered slightly, and continued to look around. Sitting on the floor in front of the couch sat the three hoodlums that followed Naruto around a lot.

'What were their names? Kono-something?' Sasuke couldn't remember.

Standing off to the side next to the couch was Lee with Gai, who were both showing off some ridiculous pose that they'd come up with to the kids sitting on the floor. Though Lee had definitely matured over the years, with his appearance slowly drifting away from that of his sensei's, the outrageous personality had yet to dwindle. If they had been standing normally like the other people in the room, Sasuke wouldn't have guessed that they were there. Both Lee and Gai were dressed in casual attire instead of their trademark green body suits. Sasuke guessed that they took Sakura's threat of not letting anyone with a ninja uniform in the door seriously.

At the punch-bowl/beer table, stood Chuoji, who was chatting quietly with Shino. Sasuke seriously couldn't think of what the two could ever talk about, as Chouji always has food in his mouth, and Shino simply doesn't talk.

Next to that, against the wall, stood Kakashi.

Sasuke blinked.

'Shit. Kakashi was hear before me? Did hell just freeze over?' Sasuke was beyond shocked, and his eyes slightly widened, not believing what he saw. Then he saw Iruka standing next to Kakashi. Ah, now there was the reason. He smirked. Iruka had actually followed through and dragged Kakashi's ass to the party on time. That's why Sasuke always respected about the academy teacher. He was reliable and dependable. That, and he always seemed to be able to control the loopy and clueless silver-haired jounin.

The two of them where chatting with the other senseis, Atsuma and Kurenai.

Sasuke blinked once again at the next person he saw. Tsunade herself was actually there. She was standing with the other senseis, talking wildly and waving her hands about, with one of them holding at sake cup. Shizune was next to her, desperately trying to keep the Hokage under some control, and failing miserably.

"Jeez Sakura, did you invite the whole village?" Sasuke commented, turning back into the kitchen, watching Sakura running about. He couldn't believe so many people had shown up, just for one dobe.

"Unfortunately, no. Both Neji and Tenten are out on a mission, so they couldn't make it." Sakura replied, her back turned as she started on some dishes in the sink. Sasuke hummed slightly. He thought the atmosphere was slightly more pleasant then usual. Whenever the elder Hyuuga was around, Sasuke always had a feeling he was being watched, and had constant chills run up his spine. The continuous paranoia of the Hyuuga watching him would sometimes put Sasuke on edge. Not that he would ever admit that the Hyuuga bothered him. Because he didn't.

Suddenly, a howl and a whine from Akamaru, who had been napping by the door, attracted their attention. Kiba immediately sprang to his feet.

"Shit! Tsunade-sama! The old hag's coming! Akamaru can smell her just down the street!" Kiba announced to the semi-intoxicated hokage.

Snapping out of her alcohol-fueled rant, Tsunade snapped her fingers together in the air, calling everyone's attention.

"Alright guys, you know the drill. Take your places and shut your mouths!" She bellowed. Immediately the room was a flurry of activity, as ninjas took action. Lights were turned off, curtain's closed, and music turn off. Once done, everyone used their stealthiest poses to hide themselves amongst the furniture. Sakura quickly ran to the door and clicked the lock, and turned off the remaining lighting in the kitchen and entryway.

"Sakura, what the fuck is going on? If Naruto's coming, shouldn't you not lock the door?" Sasuke asked, completely baffled and slightly irritated by the sudden change.

"Shhh!" Sakura waved at him, trying to quiet him. She motioned for him to kneel down, and she crept up beside him.

"It's not Naruto. It's the Elder, Koharu-sama. Tsunade-sama was suppose to be at a dinner banquet tonight with the Fire Country's nobles, but instead she skipped out to come to here. Koharu-sama is probably looking for Tsunade-sama now." Sakura whispered to Sasuke.

Sasuke couldn't help but sigh. Leave it to Tsunade to skip out any sort of work or formal socializing.

So there they all were, hiding out in Sakura's apartment, just waiting in silence. From a distance, they could hear the steady thumping of footsteps heading in their direction. Sure enough, a few minutes later a loud rapping came from the door, and a sour voice called out.

"Tsunade!? Are you in there!? Tsunade!?" The banging on the door continued for several minutes straight as Koharu repeatedly called out.

On the other side of the room Ino was currently trying to keep an intoxicated Kiba from laughing his ass off, by slapping a hand over his mouth. It really was quite a ridiculous situation. Here they all were, elite ninjas of Konoha, hiding in an apartment from an elder woman, who's voice could raise the dead and an iron-fist that was about to break through the front door.

Finally, the pounding stopped, and they could all hear Koharu leaving, along with several strings of swears and curses. The all waited another few minutes, until Akamaru gave a "yip" of approval, signaling she had officially left the area. Ino finally let go of Kiba, who immediately took a huge gulp of air, before falling onto the ground, howling in laughter.

"Finally. I thought she was going to beat my door right of its hinges!" Sakura exclaimed, flicking the lights back on.

"Humph! That old bat should just hurry up and keel over! Her and those other living corpses in the council!" Tsunade huffed, already pouring herself another cup of sake.

"Tsunade-sama! You shouldn't say such thing!" Shizune scolded the Hokage as she attempted to wrestle the sake-mug out of her hands.

The music was quickly turned back on, and the party resumed. Sasuke, not particularly one to join in the crowd, continued to hover by the kitchen. Tapping his foot in irritation, he glanced at the clock on the wall. The dobe was already 10mintes late.

"I'll give him 5 more minutes, then I'm going out to drag his ass here myself." Sasuke told himself, watching the front door anxiously.

--

Blood sloshed loudly on the ground, pooling and dripping everywhere. Naruto blinked heavily once, then twice, attempting to clear the blood from his eyes, as it ran down his face. Giving a gurgled cough, the momentum of his chest heaving made his knees give out, and they collided heavily to the blood soaked floor. His arms felt like lead, as they hung limply by his sides. Kouryuu had long since been beyond his reach, as the ivory sword had been flung somewhere away from him. Naruto's head was bowed, his red-stained hair falling in front of his eyes and sticking to his forehead. His vision was blurring too, and darkness was creeping into the corners of his eyes. But it didn't matter, because he didn't need to see. No, he didn't need to see to know that _they_ were still there.

"Kekekeke, that's it? That's all you've got to offer? Pathetic." The venom-filled voice of the silver-haired attacker called tauntingly to Naruto.

Naruto growled in frustration and in pain. Every attack, every technique or tactic he attempted on these bastards all ended in failure. He hadn't gotten a single scratch on _any_ of them. And they didn't even attack him offensively, or as a team. No. They'd only cripple Naruto's futile attempts at an attack, and then break him a little, bit by bit. Not once did he actually see them work together. They were just fucking _toying _with him.

Closing his eyes momentarily, Naruto traveled into the furthest part of his mind. Where the great gates held the Kyuubi-no-Kitsune. Standing ankle deep in water, Naruto approached the bars of the cage, and called angrily into the cage.

"Oi! You bastard! What are you doing!? Are you going to help me out or not!? If you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of getting my ass kicked." Naruto called into the darkness.

"It's useless. We cannot win this fight." A low voice grumbled from the back of the cage.

"WHAT!? What the hell!? Why are you wussing out on me now!?" Naruto all but screeched into the cage, grabbing the bars and shaking them angrily.

"There's no point in fighting anymore. I cannot help you." The Kyuubi's voice floated from the darkness, full of defeat and dread.

"No! NO! I refuse to give up! I NEVER give up!" Naruto yelled into the cage.

"Well you should!" Kyuubi growled angrily this time, finally emerging from the darkness. His eyes flashed wide with fear, anger and desperation. "You should give up! We have no hope, kit. Because against these bastards I'm actually you're weakness, not your strength. We're finished, because of _ME."_

"What…I don't--" Naruto was cut off however, when suddenly he felt his consciousness being pulled back out from the depths of his mind, and back into reality. Naruto's eyes fluttered open in surprise.

"He's right you know. He is the reason why you can never defeat us." The silver-haired man laughed, standing dangerously close to Naruto.

"Wha--?" Naruto never had the opportunity to voice his question however, as suddenly his whole body tensed in blinding pain. Gasping and clutching his chest, Naruto struggled to say upright as wave after wave of agonizing pain ripped through his body. Tilting his head up, he could barely see through his blurred vision. Attempting to focus, he could just make out the three attackers, standing in a circle around him, murmuring some sort of jutsu. Tendrils of …_something_…ghost like swirled around them. Then, summoned ghost-creatures lashed out, all plummeting at Naruto at the same time.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed to freeze in place. Naruto's muscles locked, his breath stilled, and his heart stopped. A second later, the world spun again, and Naruto couldn't feel his body as it fell to the ground. He couldn't see, as blood and darkness filled his eyes. He could hear though, a scream so terrible and gut-wrenching. But it wasn't his scream. It was Kyuubi's, as it howled and writhed in pain_. _

* * *

Wow, haha, I think hell just froze over, because I actually updated!

I'll admit, I kind of fell out of the fandom a while back. Don't get my wrong, I still love Naruto, and I've been reading every new chapter (even though I think Kishimoto has gone a little bat-shit with his story telling.)

About 80 of this chapter I wrote at the same time as the previous chapter (which yes...is two years old...).

After school started, I kind of lost intrest in writing fanfictions all together. Truthfully, I hadn't written a single fanfiction for two whole years. That was UNTIL I got swept up into this wonderfully series called Katekyo Hitman Reborn. (Which I DEMAND you all read. It's an insanely kick-ass manga. The anime's...meh, but the manga is a masterpiece. ...Yes...I'm that obsessed). Anyway, thanks to KHR, I began writing again. My writer spirit is back again with a vengeance!

So yeah, I want to thank all of you who's reviewed so far, and stuck with me! I was surprised how many reviews I kept getting, even though I hadn't updated in like..forever. (you're all crazily obsessed XD )

Next chapter...will come eventually. Can't say when for sure. So much has changed in the series, I probably have to go back rework some of the details.

Until next time!

REVIEW PLEASE! I LIVE FOR REVIEWS!!


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